Tales from the pre-dawn front: Our reporter observes Black Friday

OCALAŚ It's not defined as an extreme sport, but veteran Black Fridayshoppers say there's definitely a thrill in racing against the clock,and each other, to get the best deals in town.

Competitive tension was palpable early this morning outside BestBuy, at State Road 200 and SW 27th Avenue. The big box electronic store opened itsdoors at 5 a.m., but shoppers vying for a limited number of coveted items lined up even earlier. At 3 a.m., store sales associates began distributingtickets that guaranteed recipients the best deals on hot buys. Theline of roughly 400 hopefuls snaked around the shopping center, endingin front of Bagelicious.

To make sure he secured the first place in line, Josh Christy showedup outside the store at midnight on Wednesday and set up a tent. At 2a.m. Friday, bleary eyed and sipping coffee, he anxiouslydefended his first place position with an alliance of other frontlineshoppers like John Pinson and Lesley Jones.

But they weren't battling in complete discomfort: In addition to camping gear, Pinson and Jones connected a DVD player and a Xbox 360 to a 32-inch plasma TV, which they powered with an inverter hooked up to Pinson's truck.

This is the third year that Robert Reeves and his wife Kristi havecamped shopping mall style to score great Black Friday deals. It mightbe their last.

"The tension gets worse and the time you have to get here getsearlier," he said.

About 30 Best Buy sales associates clocked in at 2 a.m. As the lineoutside continued to grow, they rushed to take care of last minutedetails.

Once the doors open, "it's orchestrated chaos," said Chris Basener, amanaging associate for Best Buy.

"It's the biggest day of the year without a question," said Mark Amat,general manager for Best Buy of Ocala. "Nothing compares to BlackFriday as far as sales."

This one-day surge in sales often propels retails stores into theblack --- as opposed to the red --- on their balance sheets. Hence the name Black Friday, and hence the huge glut of "door buster" sales staged nationwide at retailers large and small.

While shoppers lined up outside Best Buy jockeyed for tickets, othersformed lines outside of JC Penny. The Paddock Mall department storeopened its doors this year at 4 a.m.

Lisa Smallwood and her mother, Madeline Masut, showed up at 2:30 a.m. to gain first entry through the store's side entrance.

Black Friday shopping has become a "mother-daughter ritual" and a partof their Thanksgiving holiday tradition, said Smallwood.

The National Retail Federation reports in a prepared statement thatroughly 132.9 million Americans will shop this today and this weekend.

Jessica Greene can be reached at jessica.greene@starbanner.com or 732-7159.